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02:13
argh!
i am on the coffee beta but I have no questions to ask ;_;
and i'd like the beta badge for this site if any!
user61230
Badger v0.1a
05:18
-2
Q: Why doesn't RPG fit into Arqade?

PyraminxWhy can't RPG fit into Arqade? After all, it has an rpg tag. The way I see it, any question about an role playing game would be a game that fits in Gaming. Why isn't it merged?

05:36
Oh no it's Taisho! Quick, hide my campaign spoilers!
@TheOracle [reins in snark]
I'm this close to calling "Troll" on that meta question; the person's activity indicates questioning the site's scope is the first and only action they've ever taken here.
@BESW I don't think it's a troll, I think they just saw RPG on the list of sites and assumed it was CRPG, then wondered why it existed.
That said, it still shows that they didn't look at anything on the site before asking the question.
No upvotes, no downvotes, no looking at the tour...
[wanders over to Arqade meta looking for "Why haven't we consumed this other site to gain its power?" question]
-17
Q: Should Arqade be divided into sections?

PyraminxArqade is a nice site, but it just has too many games on it, so some users might be familiar with some games but not others. Shouldn't it be divided into a section for every genre? Here are some examples: Real time strategy (Starcraft 2, Company of Heroes) Rpg (Runescape, Mass Effect) First-Pe...

05:51
[squint]
Okay, now I want to go look at all his other Stack accounts.
I feel like we've found the SE wandering guru, meandering from site to site and trying to make sites totally rethink their identities.
...I think you're right.
1
Q: What should I do if I am unsure of the category of a question I'm asking?

PyraminxI have a question that I'd like to ask on the stackexchange community, but I'm not sure which site to ask it on. The question is something like Are there any physical stores (not online) for makers and DIYers near Vancouver, BC? Which site should I ask it on? The only site that is related to...

1
Q: How do you tell whether your question should be in EE, Arduino or SO?

PyraminxI have come across many questions that are an Arduino/Electrical Engineering/Stack Overflow blend and am not sure which one to ask it on. This includes questions on debugging arduino programs controlling circuits, which I come across a lot, like this one. I originally asked it on EE, thinking ab...

he doesn't seem to be a troll, he's just had some bouts of not really getting it outside his home SEs
@doppelgreener Hey, I've done that. What I didn't do was visit a site for the first time and tell them they shouldn't exist without actually looking at them :P
Mmm. Seeing his history on other sites I am inclined to think "not a troll." But it is a spectacularly blunt introduction he's chosen to make for himself.
06:09
well, yes, e.g. his arqade question seems to be momentarily forgetful of the existence of tags and search
And his profile blurb hints at a fundamental misunderstanding about the purpose of the vote-to-close mechanic. So.
Diagnosis: guy who earnestly wants to help but could use a bit more reading.
Or, yanno, any reading.
I would quote part of it, but I'm spoilt for choice and laughing too hard.
06:35
@BESW i'm going to have to leave this for when i'm home i think
 
1 hour later…
08:03
@BESW I read it, my cheeks are wet and I can feel my sides more keenly than before
Good.
09:03
did...someone actually post about merging rpg and arqade?
lol, yep
>.<
heres a thought... when you sign up for a new site, it pops up what the sites about?
wait
it does that before you sign up
@BESW ever the diplomat with that comment :)
 
1 hour later…
10:28
(!)
@doppelgreener Do you have a handy link to that coffee/cooking meta post?
one sec
7
A: Wouldn't (almost) every question here be on-topic for Seasoned Advice?

doppelgreenerI have an account on Seasoned Advice, and it never even occurred to me I could ask about coffee there (i.e. as Robert described). They're in very different mental categories for me, but as a result of them also being in very different categories in the real world. Consider that the Seasoned Advi...

Thanks!
 
2 hours later…
12:29
"Stable incendiary" would be a good name for a band.
13:13
Good morning.
Hey.
The earworm of the evening is The Chances of Anything Coming from Mars (are a million to one, he said).
I was never very good with yo-yos.
(I prefer "Hey" most of the time.)
lol yeah thats a great meta question to downvote
13:34
ok, my entire house went ape a second ago about a post on here (i have the se app on everything...it was loud!).... but cant seem to find it...
Id eleted it
was asking wehre the questino you were referring to
but then I was like duh meta
heh. Ok
We should be advertising Board and Card games on our ad cycle
5
There is a nice crossover userbase of table top gaming between the two sites. And I didnt even know it existed until recently
13:54
yeah im trying to rep there but I cant really as Im sorta not playing a lot of boardgames all the time anymore
and also most of my rules questions always get answered over @ esoteric order of gamers
Hi there!
Hi
I think I just got roped into do graphics. I suck at it
Graphics for an ad like that, or independent?
I went to Boardgames, found their meta discussion about creating a graphic for themselves to display here... poked it, and got a... kinda sly backhanded request to do it
14:09
Ah, yes. Your phrasing sounded like that might have been what was going on.
that wasnt my intent!
trust me, they dont want what i can put out
... lets see...i have inkscape and campaign cartographer installed as my only graphics packages
You should totally prove that to them. And use good old MS Paint in the process or something to drive it home.
14:33
Alright, its time for me to sleep before i spend all day working on a graphic that no one will like anyways
Till later!
 
1 hour later…
15:54
@Grubermensch @JoshuaAslanSmith @RobertF @Shalvenay Sorry guys, but I've got to cancel tonight. My voice is shot.
OH NOEZZZZZ
its cool I actually got to play some D&D last night so Im not itching for a fix
The Fighter 1 / Warlock 6 has kind of a stupid amount of versatility.
in combat at least
OOC not so much
that's a bit of a bummer, you'd hope the casting would provide some OOC versatility, but if it's primarily evok stuff then not so much
@waxeagle Ahhhh too bad. Hope you feel better soon.
@Grubermensch I hope so too :|
I still really want to try a system with a versatile magic mechanism.
None of this Vancian prescribed-list-of-spells nonsense.
16:06
like describe you desired effect, spend an amount of points type deal?
More or less. A jitter mechanic is also intriguing to me, so spells might not always behave like you want them to.
@waxeagle so at level 6 I know 7 spells
but I only have 2 slots
they are maxed slots
but I only have 2
they recharge with short rests
@JoshuaAslanSmith that's per rest period though, right?
16:08
correct
Oh that makes it better
The warlock could be all about OOC utility
or balance it with known spells
its just that you need to be resting between those uses then
in combat, the hex blade I built worked really well he could deal damage at range and at melee
because theres no reason not to take eldritch blast as a cantrip even if you build hexblade
took warcaster as my feat so I could easily cast without issues and through invocations my eldritch blast deals cha damage + 1d10 per beam
and it pushes 10 sqaures
eldricht blast is nasty. getting to apply cha on every instance is even nastier
16:18
yepppp
also the class has a fair bit of versatility depending upon what patron you choose
archfey vs great old one vs the fiend all expand your spell selection
So my dude was fairly combat focused because I went the fiend
it felt very retribution avenger from 4e combined with a barbarian, I got temps for killing people and had close attack spells and reaction spells (burning retribution)
it did confirm for me that dragonbreath still should be a bonus attack instead of an action
(was playing a dragonborn)
it just does not scale (being based off your con, even for a front liner is at best a +3 but usually a +2) and it doesnt do that much damage
though we did enjoy combining it with Web vs large creatures to deal 2d4 per square of burning web they were in
@JoshuaAslanSmith nice :)
yeah which was great because my 3d6 came up as 6 total damage
but my 8d4s came up as 16 total damage
very nice
still under the average though, check those dice :P
yeah I know
werent mine
it is cool as warlock though, your spells always cast at max slot level (based on your warlock level) so I had burning hands as well which if I cast wouldve been cast at level 3
yeah, that's the perk for the reduced slots :)
16:25
and apparently there are optimization shenanigans to be had combining warlock spell slots with sorcerer metamagics.
(and the fact that you don't get higher than L5 slots)
@JoshuaAslanSmith I can imagine
easily convert unused slots to meta magic points and vice-versa
arent 5th level slots the maximum anyway?
oh hmmmmmm
actually you get a 6th, 7, 8, and 9th level spell as you level up
right, they're just wierd
that becomes a short rest ability power
their list ot choose from for these is nothing to bat an eye at
6t h L e v e l
Arcane Gate
Circle of Death
Conjure Fey
Create Undead
Eyebite
Flesh to Stone
Mass Suggestion
True Seeing
7t h L e v e l
Etherealness
Finger of Death
Forcecage
Plane Shift
8t h L e v e l
Demiplane
Dominate Monster
Feeblemind
Glibness
Power Word Stun
9 t h L e v e l
Astral Projection
Foresight
Imprisonment
Power Word Kill
True Polymorph
17:24
@sevensideddie thank you for voicing my concerns on the flamethrower question
@waxeagle - No problem - we leveled up to 5, right? I need to study my spellbook.
@RobertF yeah, yup
And we've got a lot of gold to spend - I apologize I didn't keep track of our loot but it's considerable
Our characters are just down the road from Baldur's Gate I believe - maybe we could all get some R&R and go shopping for more stuff, woohoo
17:42
@RobertF I promised a loot summary. You'll have a couple of days in Elturel, and then depending on how fast you get to Baldur's gate, you may have a few days there
Roger, thanks.
Time to buy warhorses
@JoshuaAslanSmith keep in mind that no pack animals are allowed in Baldur's gate, if you want them later you'll have to take them around the city (and there aren't any roads around it)
yeah I understand
Can we hire mercenaries in Elturel or Baldur's Gate?
17:45
@RobertF more like you'll be hired as mercenaries in Baldur's gate :)
Ah got it, we are the mercenaries. ;)
@waxeagle no doubt they sell horses on both sides of the gate
so I can wait to buy one until we possibly leave
have even more cash and have plate barding
It just occurred to me - if I hired my own personal merc bodyguard, could I ask the other players to donate part of their loot share (let's say half) and then I would offer protection? That seems fair doesn't it? ;)
uhhhhhhhhh
I dont think anyone would do that
Well so much for my protection racket idea. :) I bet there have been players who pulled stunts like that in the past.
17:59
Have you been hit that much?
youre usually back of the line
(mumbles something about his sorcerer always being at the front of the line)
@DavidWilkins I mean we have a fighter, myself as a melee ranger, and a bard who sorta gets in and out of front line, a cleric and him as the wizard
Nah, I'm fine. Seriously though, if we hired a company of mercs, might be helpful for sweeping through dungeons & as a meat shield. Especially if we're going up against some nasty stuff in the next phase of the adventure.
@JoshuaAslanSmith aye, that they do.
We have a monk, rogue, druid, paladin, wizard, (homebrewed alchemist) and me, and I am usually front of the line or next to the front. I know I can just as easily cast Fireball from the rear, but I also love to use my awesome spear any chance I get.
Odds are I won't be in the fron when it comes to bosses, but 10 scarecrows? Let me at em!
18:04
Hmm do PCs still get XPs (or level up) if we delegate the heavy fighting to hirelings?
You should share exp with NPCs who are helping you
@DavidWilkins - That makes sense. I bet there are rules in one of the D&D editions covering hireling XPs.
@DavidWilkins I am looking up hireling/servant rules in the 5e dmg
so hirelings as a word are mean to refer to one time dudes who perform a task for you
the coach driver who takes you to another town
the street urchins you pay to pull surviellance on a house etc.
NPC party members do get a full cut of all monster axp
Ok so no free lunch with NPCs doing the dirty work.
DMG seems to assume that NPC party members should only be used to fill out a party in the event that you have a low player number or as low level backups for your main character
there are no cut and dried rules for hiring mechanics, prices, and power levels
though it infers that they would want to join you to get a cut of the loot
realistically as a DM I would probably make that the "cost" of an NPC
at the very least he party would need to pay for the lifetime expenses of the NPC
18:12
IIRC AD&D had another mechanic called "henchmen" which would be more like mercenaries. They were more expensive and I think only got a half share of exp?
@DavidWilkins we are running a very RAW with a dash of RAI version of the game, the only real house rule is spell shapes are the 4e versions because its very stupidly hard to model the actual 5e spell shapes on a square grid
Roger that. Yeah, I hated in Pathfinder trying to describe where my "cone" was affecting creatures
yeah were using 4e's blast square for cones
If we have some downtime we can also use our wealth for researching (1 gp per day)& training (1 gp per day for 250 days). Researching Tiamat & dragon cults might be a good idea. Maybe my PC could earn some $ practicing magic for the locals in Baldur's Gate.
yeah training is boss
Does any of us have thieves tool proficency?
I feel like maybe ken but not really
18:23
@RobertF keep in mind we're playing downtime as currency that's accrued and spent rather than whenever there is an opening in the adventure. You've got 40 days right now
(@david that's one of our other house rules, we borrowed a few things out of the AL guide)
@waxeagle - Ok thanks wax
19:04
Downtime as currency....That sounds like a cool way of doing it
@waxeagle - Is this an online game?
@JohnP yeah
I can hardly wait to try my hand at DMing for the first time with HotDQ
@waxeagle I tried that for a little bit with Brian B, it was interesting.
@JohnP I'm relatively impressed with how little technical difficulties we have, which makes it much easier to just focus on the game
(mics can be glitchy and connections drop sometimes, but it's way better than it was even a few years ago)
19:12
That's good, as I recall we had quite a few technical problems.
Do you use a service like roll20, or just google hangouts type of setup?
both in fact
roll20 has a hangouts plugin that we use
@waxeagle nice.
yeah it streamlines things
and roll20's VOIP and video service has never been great
Huh. Someone on area51 is a prescient time traveler.
Muad'Dib?
19:24
"I have been a practicing bishop of The Church of the FSM for around 35 years. Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia!"
moar like, Mahdi
Considering that FSM was only first described in 2005, that makes him 25 years ahead of schedule.
I keep thinking about becoming a roll20 supporter
sespecially since I am no longer subbing for D&D insider
user61230
@BESW "badger of honour"
Badgers? We don't need no steenkeeng Badgers!
badgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadgerbadger
The irony of a life advice blog telling me to unplug
Don't buffalo me with badgers!
user61230
the Stack Exchange badgers script
19:39
@JoshuaAslanSmith True, but in this day and age it's an easy way to reach people. There are a lot of things in his blog that make sense {and work}
Im sure
that you are correct
its just a very dissonant platform for that type of advice in general is all
Agreed.
this is less a statement on that exact blog than in general
Although this reminds me I haven't practiced my form in three days. Bad monkey.
Speaking of that, is there anyone that doesn't love Trunk Monkey?
19:45
Trunk Monkey, great series of commercials. (And yes, I realize the dichotomy of this and my previous post).
My favorite is the cop and the donut/money.
Lots of old things coming back to mind recently. I used to toy around with this sandbox game called Falling Sands. I checked on it the other day and the forum I would get stuff from hasn't had much new content since 2007
To move forward in life, you must first return to where you've been.
Don't mind me, I get that way sometimes. :p
20:13
15k yay. I can... protect questions now. Exciting.
...not
more importantly you can unprotect questions now
a-ha
I'm going to unprotect all monks questions now, just because I can. (Like if)
though be warned, with much power comes much responsibility, and failure to use your power judiciously may find you with your reputation set to 1 for a period of time :)
@waxeagle I can see how the power of folks w/ hi rep scores to edit other people's posts can be abused. If you've made some enemies on your rise to power, then it's payback time once you have editing powers!
@waxeagle I'm more worried about misclicking somewhere
@RobertF Oh, no, no, no, I don't want to see this turned into a boy scouts timebomb
20:23
A boy scouts timebomb?
@RobertF and that's why all edits bump
a timebomb, because all is silent until suddenly the site becomes war territory
and a boy scouts one because that's how boy scouts work. You are 12, you count nothing, you wash all the pots. But wait until you're 16 and you can do the same to others!
How does this work again? 1d20
or does it have to be by itself
1d20
I should use this more often
20:30
What I don't understand about this site is why comments are frequently deleted. Other SE sites like Sci-Fi & Fantasy it looks like nobody touches the comments for a question or answer.
I don't mind comments being cleaned up
Well, comments should be deleted if they don't help clarify a question or an answer - it's part of our not being a forum.
@RobertF basically, the idea behind clearing out comments somewhat lies in what coments are (ephemeral, meant for clarification only), and somewaht lies in making information more accessible (more comments means more space before you get to an answer, or the next one)
I will flag comments on Science Fiction & Fantasy
and our mods are super active about comment deletion, it's fairly high on their priorities (which is debatable, but it certainly doesn't hurt the site...except when they get a bit over zealous, which does happen)
20:33
On Arqade, though, I would never flag a comment unless it was blatantly offensive or detracting
very different ethos there
Right, it's a matter of opinion which comments ought to be deleted - personally I enjoy reading the comments as footnotes.
At what rep level can you see deleted comments, or is there one?
Still, I like the organization & layout of this site better than www.rpg.net. You can search the rpg.net site by topic, but seeing similar past questions pop up while you're typing your own question, or seeing tsimilar past questions listed in the sidebar, is a nice feature.
@DavidWilkins it's moderator only material
20:54
16
Q: Why are site comments being deleted?

mxyzplkSome site users have noticed old comments being deleted. This is correct - site comments are meant to be a mostly temporary means of improving questions and answers. Here's an explanation of the process we use. Argumentative comments or extended discussion comment threads hijacking an entire q...

20
Q: Can we re-evaluate our comment deletion policy? (or at least have access to the data?)

wax eagleOver the past several weeks, moderator comment deletion has been regular and heavy handed. I'm generally good with this (I'm on record as saying I'm far more likely to delete an entire comment stream than a few single comments when it's my job). But it would be good to both evaluate this behavior...

3
Q: A chart of comments per user

Brian Ballsun-StantonOn the RPG Data Explorer ... I've made a query of the number of comments per user. The results, especially done as a ratio of comments over posts is fascinating. At this point, I will simply encourage users to contemplate their comment activity versus their more productive activity. Refer to th...

As you can see from those meta posts, the RPG.SE attitude toward comment moderation is actually more in line with the platonic Stack Exchange ideal (note credentials of that poster I'm linking to).
It's common for individual Stack sites to choose not to enforce this because they don't feel it's a big problem for them (SCIFI.SE), or it's such a big problem that their culture has turned toxic against it and effective moderation of comments would be nearly impossible (SO.SE). We've had users from those stacks become belligerent when we enforce Stack policies they're used to ignoring.
But enforcing the idea that comments exist primarily as temporary tools for improving permanent posts is important to the Stack ethos: forums do conversation just fine and we have no interest in duplicating forum functionality. The Stack is about eliding discussion so that well-sorted solutions are easily accessible.
21:37
I feel so conflicted
M'rr?
My character is trying to save an efreeti who's made a pact with a devil and is now forced to cast wishes and fight for some warlord we can't scry. The only way we know of frreing him without him having to pay a fee to the devil is by breaking a stone that ties him to his bottle (because the plane where the ritual was cast is acheron and spells are tied to gems)
So we found the gem, guarded by yugoloths.
We just paid 9000 gp to the yugoloths so that they can pay their fee for breaking the contract with the devil. I'm scorned that the devil is making money from this. And apparently breaking the gem is not enough and the yugoloth wants money to tell us why
I just want to kill the yugoloth and his allies and break the gem and if that doesn't work go l0ooking for the devil
but I have a character that doesn't want to make enemies or cause pain to people, because she believes in "ye desire that men should do unto you, so also shall ye do unto them"
As you know, D&D doesn't handle that well because 1) having enemies and bringing them pain is the primary mode of interaction for the game and 2) to justify this, the world is full of sapient beings that aren't supposed to qualify as worthy of humane treatment.
also, the [snip]ing gem is incorporeal
D&D3.5 Question: Anyone know if there's a list of spellcaster PrC's that don't require specifically arcane or divine casting somewhere? I don't think this is something that would make a good SE question but it's something I'm looking into right now.
21:46
(Also, while the Golden Rule is pretty awesome generally, it really can't be taken totally literally. If I have a love of snakes, I shouldn't use the Golden Rule to justify draping snakes over someone who doesn't like them.)
(Instead it's more of an abstract thing, where you treat people with justice and dignity and act thoughtfully according to their needs regardless of whether the specific actions you perform are things you'd like done to you in exactly the same way.)
21:59
So if we abort the mission probably the efreet dies and the warlord needs to pay the fee. If he lives and gets tired and breaks the contract before finding death in battle, he has to pay the fee. If we get to the stone without fighting, the guards need to pay the fee. He either gets some money -or- we kill someone. I just wish my teammate did just attack and took the onus on her.
But it will probably end with the guard taking money from my teammate, going away leaving us with a useless item, giving part of the money he took from us to the devil and the warlord/efreet thing is still unsolved, which means we just gave some money away for free.
I should tell the DM this is frustrating me.
The only good thing is I'm getting XP from this anyway and I should get to level 22.
22:28
Sounds to me like the GM is successfully portraying a devil as cunning enough to run a Xanatos gambit.
Yes, he is. Which is driving me mad. I now want to kill xanathos, which is no good since I don't rally want to kill anyone.
That's pretty cool, except for the bit where one of his players wants to play a game where devils get defeated, rather than a game where devils force PCs to make hard choices.
The plan is I go at him and ---ask---tell him to stop this thing. Probably dying in the attempt, or just getting laughed at.
My advice is to talk to the GM, rather than the devil, about your dissatisfaction and playstyle dissonance.
He may think he's set up obvious options for a non-Pyrrhic victory that you're deliberately choosing to ignore, or he may not have realized that a D&D game usually features absolute victory scenarios.
23:33
o/ @Zachiel and @BESW
o/ @Emrakul

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